'Minecraft' Meets Disney in 'Disney Infinity' — and It's Awesome

What's This?

By Christina Warren2013-08-19 20:10:06 UTC

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Simply put, Disney Infinity is Minecraft meets Skylanders meets Disney and Pixar characters. But that's only partially true. At its heart, Disney Infinity is the result of combining old-school toy play with the digital world. The results are remarkable.

When Disney unveiled Disney Infinity in January, the underlying theme was all about the player and the possibilities of play.

Infinity is designated into two parts: the main game and the Toy Box mode. The starter pack, which retails for $74.99, includes three action figures (Captain Jack Sparrow, Sulley and Mr. Incredible), which each represents the start of a different play set. These physical figures sit on the Infinity pad and interact with the game.

In the main game mode of Infinity, only toys from the same play set can work together. In other words, your Jack Sparrow can't play in the same world as Sulley. If you want to have a multiplayer game within the regular game mode, you'll first need to buy another figure from one of those sets to use with the game.

Of course, in Toy Box mode (see in detail below), anything goes and characters from across franchises can all play together.

Play Sets

Each play set has its own open-ended platform game. In truth, this is all part of the same game, but the mechanics and worlds and characters vary enough to make each feel like a unique experience.

Each set has its own set of campaigns that you travel through with the goal of unlocking content to use in the Toy Box. I was surprised by just how much I liked some of the play set content. The Pirates of the Caribbean battleship looked spectacular and reminded me quite a bit of Assassins Creed III.

The Monster's University campaign was very true to the spirit of the film and a lot of fun. The Incredibles campaign also captured the spirit of the characters in an action-oriented platformer.

The campaigns are fun, but the real goal is to unlock items for use in the Toy Box. Some of this is based on luck, which can be frustrating if you end up on the wrong end of the coin, and others are based on reaching certain goals.

Since you can't play two-player in the campaign mode out of the box (without first buying some extra figures), I'd recommend that parents consider buying an extra figure or two at time of purchase, as the multi-player component is a lot of fun.

Toy Box Mode

The play sets are fun, for sure, but the real meat of Disney Infinity is the Toy Box.

The idea behind Toy Box mode is that you can dump all your toys onto the floor and play with them as you see fit. That means that Mr. Incredible and Sulley can team up, and that characters from Wreck It Ralph and the castle from Sleeping Beauty and the recognizer from Tron can all live in the same world.

Toy Box is Minecraft meets Mario Paint but with the power of Disney's IP. In the Toy Box, 1,200 potential toys can be unlocked from different play sets, leveling up characters with power discs or from taking spins on a wheel to unlock items. You can earn spins within the game portion of Infinity; they can also be found around the Toy Box itself.

These items can be combined with typical building blocks and objects to create anything imaginable. The building experience is very similar to Minecraft, but it's a lot more intuitive.

My favorite part of Toy Box Mode is actually creating games in the world by using different logic objects. You can link up to 50 items together to create a different chain of events. For instance, I can create a soccer field and set a logic action so that when a ball crosses a goal line, a scoreboard advances one point. Or, when I jump on a platform, fireworks go off.

To me, this is fascinating because these logic interactions teach kids — or adults — the concepts of programming. You're creating logical "if this, then that" types of interactions that can get remarkably complex.

The Disney Infinity YouTube channel already offers tutorials for creating your own racing games and 2D platforms games.

Disney told me they will hold contests for users to submit their own worlds and games based around certain themes, and that the best material will be available for free download. I can already envision a massive YouTube community developing around the game and the various mods and creations.

Toy Box is extremely compelling and more than worth the price of admission. I could seriously see myself spending hours upon hours creating complex worlds and sequences with the various toys and virtual objects in the game.

Add-Ons and Extras

As mentioned above, the starter kit comes with three figurines, each from a different play set, and different figures from those worlds can be purchased separately. Disney also has additional play sets available for Cars and The Lone Ranger, with more to come throughout the fall and beyond.

Disney wouldn't confirm any specific property coming to Infinity, but it said its clearly looking at every popular property and franchise. As time goes on, I also wouldn't be surprised to see Star Wars and Marvel characters enter the world.

The figurines themselves are of very high quality. I can see collectors flocking to the figures even without the gameplay element. The toys don't move, but I can imagine kids enjoying them with regular play.

While some may wring their hands at the prices of the play sets and figures, I actually think that they are fairly reasonable, at least in the big-picture context. DLC content or in-app purchase on mobile games is the norm and these sets cost about the same as those types of purchases, with the bonus of a physical toy.

I'll instead ding Disney on the power disc packs. The packs cost $5 on Amazon and include two different discs that add various capabilities to characters in the game mode. My problem is that these packs are random, meaning you could buy four packs and get the same power-ups over and over again. That seems like a money grab that otherwise is refreshingly absent from the product.

Obviously, the beauty of Disney Infinity is that it can grow and expand over time. In that way, I don't view it too differently from the Little People and LEGO and Playmobil toy sets I used to collect as a kid. Yes, that means the prices can add up, but it also means the potential of the game — and its longterm value — is better as well.

From Infinity to...

I'm a 30-year old child-less woman with absolutely no intention of having children. I say that because I've already become enamored with the world of Disney Infinity and its approach to creative and digital play.

This is a game that I think kids will really enjoy, but that parents (and even non-parents) will like, too. The combination of nostalgia and open-ended fun hits all the right buttons.

The Lowdown

What's Good

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  Amazing characters

  
  


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  Open-ended gameplay that is surprisingly fun

  
  


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  Toy Box mode, which allows for tons of possibilities

  
  

What's Bad

Images: Disney

Topics: Apps and Software, choice, disney, Disney Infinity, Entertainment, Gaming, reviews